March 22, 2026

Hook

Showdown Before Dawn

Plot Synopsis

== Hook ==
The party was called into a small rural town outside Shumoku, Raikougon. The town was developed to help supply grain for the main city centers and was long ruled by the Hata family until the Makino family began to rise in power. The Makinos offered progressive policies in exchange for steep taxes which was popular among many of the townsfolk and they began to become the more favorable family. The Hatas claimed that these acts were encroaching on their legal property and that it was a matter of wounded honor and would be settled as such with a proper duel with their champion, knowing that the Makinos did not have any that could rival them. The Makinos sent for the adventurers to settle the conflict.

== Summary ==
The party was greeted by the Makinos' champion, Ninja George who led them to meet their employers, Takeshi and Maseru Makino, brothers that shared the throne. They exlpained that the Hatas seem to be distracting from something and asked the party to investigate to try to get the Hatas to drop the duel to save face. The party then split off to gather information. Kaelen went to speak with one of the architects of the mansion to see if he could figure out what kind of protections they had under the disguise of a traveling scholar. Lucas went to the tavern where he met a mysterious masked man by the name of Masuo who spoke fondly of the Makinos' policies and provided some other historical insights. Fisk and Bard went to a food vendor, an elderly woman who spoke fondly of the Hata family, appealing to tradition.

Next the party's scheming began. Lucas separated themself from the others by going directly to Hideo Hata, trying to work a political angle, while the others infiltrated to find the blackmail. Lucas negotiated most of the way, but was able to seal the deal by consulting Vindreo, the Lord of the Dark (see 'The Largest Giant' writeup) using a crystal ball, with the third opinion, the Hatas agreed to repeal the material weight of the duel, satisfied on just keeping it a matter of honor. Meanwhile the other three attempted to lull the guards to sleep, but failed. They then found another weak spot to slip in and made their way to the vault. For seemingly no reason, Kaelen left and threw a fireball at a building where the workers of the mansion were sleeping, killing five, injuring a dozen more, and setting off the alarms. The guards shot him out of the sky, knocking him unconscious, as Bard and Fiskh used the distraction to sneak out of the building unnoticed. (at this point I want to stress that there was no reason for this. The two were completely undetected the entire time and were able to make it to the vault doors, and then left without doing anything. There was no purpose to the distraction and it was not utilized in any way). Meanwhile the explosion set off the alarms and Lucas who was still speaking with Hideo was surrounded by guards. Without a second thought Lucas turned in the identities, appearances, and last known locations of all of his party members to save the progress he has made so far. Hideo agreed to have Lucas return to the Makino mansion with guards to secure the other end of the negotiations. Kaelen woke up in prison and was able to escape using creature teleportation, and then met up with Fiskh and Bard.

The next morning the duel began. Lucas attended to make sure things went smoothly. The Samurai, Masao easily defeated Ninja George as expected. Kaelen appeared and attempted to interfere with blood spike but was counter spelled, and then he disappeared once again, going off plane this time. As part of his agreements, Lucas was paid gold by the Makinos for his efforts and was exhiled from the town as per the conditions of his pardon for his connection to the others, while Fiskh, Bard, and Kaelen remain on the run (but still get gold somehow).

== Post Game Events ==
The duel was a failure for the Makinos. Despite the adventurers' intervention, they still had to face off in a 1v1 despite a lack of military force or tallent, and so they were humiliated. The direct costs were mitigated but the support of the people was swayed in no little thanks to the bombing on the Hatas' Mansion. While the Hatas agreed to not press charges as they had no direct control over the adventurers and complied with investigation, the rumors grew surrounding the mysterious incident and theories began to float around of a shadow war which diminished the Makinos' power.

== Rewards ==
2500 EXP
300 Gold
1 APO 9 Token

Noteworthy Postgame Events